Place of Death

Creators

Contents

History

It was written in our book of worlds. A wave would come. And it has come true. It was written and it has come true. A billion Skrulls died to prove the words true. A billion more Skrulls died to tell us we are here with purpose. It was written a wave would come. And it was written a world of blue would be the home for all that believed. We are right. He loves us.

Early Life

Sent to die alone on the planet

A Skrull princess, Veranke was a member of the Dard'van, a deeply religious sect of Skrull society whose existence centered around an approaching scenario that would see the end of the Skrull Empire. After the Illuminati's failed attempt to intimidate the Skrull empire into leaving Earth alone, Veranke and her sect attempted to warn then-ruler Dorrek VII of the impending disaster of an eater of worlds and a "wave". She challenged his claim to the throne that if he remained ignorant, then he was not worthy of it. Refusing to let his authority be challenged, Dorrek called her insane and a religious zealot. However, he could not execute Veranke without making her a martyr, so he had her exiled on a deserted planet. She was brought out of exile in the aftermath of the Skrull homeworld's destruction by Galactus.[2]

Skrull Empress

She became the Skrull Empress and orchestrated the Secret Invasion, having become a religious crusade, which was opposed by Kl'rt, the original Super-Skrull and Prince Xavin. She herself posed as Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), having captured her at a Hydra base where they were attempting to restore her powers, which was filled with Skrull sleeper agents.[2]

Spider-Woman

Once the operation was a success, Veranke took part in the Skrull Infiltration Ritual that would imbue her with Spider-Woman's powers and memories. She took her place in S.H.I.E.L.D., when her lover Pagon instigated the mass breakout at the Raft prison.[3] The New Avengers tried to round up the escaping prisoners.[4] The team manage to keep at least manage to keep 45 of the 87 prisoners on the island.[5] After officially joining the new team she accompanies them to the Savage Land.[6] Teaming up with Wolverine they battled the Savage Land Mutates.Yelena Belova however arrived to sterilize the area.[7] After the battled they used the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to return home.[8] "Spider-Woman" then went on a mission to return the Wrecker to the Raft.[9] Working together they are able to successfully bring him in.[10] Spider-Woman and the team were brought in to arrest Cloak and Dagger.[11] They teamed up with the Thunderbolts[12][13] Spider-Woman and the team had a Christmas party which was attacked by Ultron[14] The team recruited Sentry[15] and Echo to the team.[16] Together they battled the Hand.[17]

Hydra

Captain America confronted "Spider-Woman" to find out her double agent status.[21] "Spider-Woman" admitted she was a traitor and a double agent, but for Hydra. She cannot explain her status to her superiors because of the discovery in the Savage Land. She was given worse assignments, such as accompanying Matt Murdock to the Raft. Cap then made her an Avenger and Hydra forced her to accept. "Spider-Woman" thinks that Hydra is being controlled by the same powers that are corrupting S.H.I.E.L.D. She said that she had to let Madame Hydra go, and confesses she was horrified at her own actions, particularly since she almost killed Cap. The team believed her, whereas the Sentry did not think it was his place to say. Wolverine told them he has known Jess a long time and that they have a history, and that he believed her. He then demands that she tell them the rest. Cap tells her that there should be no more secrets and lies.[22] The team made a deal with J. Jonah Jameson for the rights to their story but he betrayed them, branding the members murderers and traitors.[23]

Civil War

After the Stamford incident the Superhuman Registration Act came into force and Spider-Man revealed his identity to the world. Iron Man disclosed "Spider-Womans"'s triple agent status to S.H.I.E.L.D. director Hill and ordered her to be apprehended. Hiding under the name Sybil Dvorak, she was captured and taken to the helicarrier. Deploying an electro-magnetic pulse device, a Hydra commando team disabled the helicarrier and rescued her. She made her way to the hidden base of the Secret Avengers and pleaded to join the team.[24]

After the Civil War, "Spider-Woman" traveled with the New Avengers to Tokyo[25] and fought Pagon disguised as "Elektra" along with the Hand.[26] is unable to prevent Echo from killing Elektra, revealing her true identity.[27] "Spider-Woman" then attacked the team taking the corpse. She took it to Iron man with hope of sowing distrust among the heroes. Afterwards, she also joined the government sanctioned the Mighty Avengers, under the guise of throwing the Skrulls off balance.[28]

Secret Invasion

Relationship with Tony Stark

Once the invasion began, Veranke's plans bore fruit, having uploaded a virus that disabled the main Helicarrier, all StarkTech, expunged the Extremis virus from Tony Stark's body, destroyed S.W.O.R.D. headquarters and laid mistrust among the superhero community of America. She also ordered the assassination of Dorrek VIII, keeping his royal heritage secret from his would-be assassins. Also, she sent empowered Skrulls to take out Richard Rider, the last remaining Nova Centurion, before he could return to defend his home planet, only for Kl'rt to save him.[29][30]

As Spider-Woman

In the Savage Land, Veranke made one last chance to crush Stark's spirit, by insinuating that he's a Skrull sleeper agent. She kisses him and tells him that he has earned her love. Black Widow attempted to kill her, only to be distracted by Skrull agents disguised as Beast and Phoenix, which Veranke slips away.[31]

However, Reed Richards managed to develop a device that could expose a Skrull's true form. Thor had also gathered all heroes in Central Park to fight against the invaders, joined by the Hood's gang and the Thunderbolts. When it seemed that Veranke was killed, Criti activated a secret in the new growth formula he gave to Janet Van Dyne, causing her to swell in size, emitting purple energy, turning her into a bio-bomb, to destroy Earth if the Skrulls failed. Thor had no choice but to kill his comrade to save Earth. Veranke was shot dead by Thunderbolts Director Norman Osborn.[32]

Because of her death, the Skrulls were in disarray with many either imprisoned or dead while others were forced to flee. Things weren't that much better for Earth, because Osborn took the main kill, enabling him to ascend to the top of American national security. It was the perfect opportunity to subvert superheroes and allow villains to gain power.[32]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Skrull Shape-Shifting: Like other Skrulls, Queen Veranke is a shape-shifter. They can mentally cause the unstable molecules that comprise his or her body to become pliant, enabling him or her to assume other forms through muscular expansion and contraction. Once a new shape has been assumed, it takes a conscious act of will to assume another form or revert to natural. Hence, Skrulls do not spontaneously lose their assumed form when asleep or unconscious. Skrulls in altered form will, however, revert to their original forms at the moment of death.

Skrull Infiltration Ritual: Veranke took part in a ritual a mixture of science and magic that imbued her with Jessica Drew alias Spider-Woman's powers and memories. This allows the subject to go undetected in human form by Iron Man's technological scans, Charles Xavier's mental scans, Spider-Man's Spider-Sense, Wolverine's animal senses, or any other conceivable forms of detection. So subtle and powerful is this form of concealment neither Doctor Strange could detect her with the Spell of Tartashi, nor could the Elder God-powered Scarlet Witch using Xavier's psychic powers delve into Veranke's true mind, as shown when Veranke was granted Jessica Drew's desires, not her own.

Skrull Engineering

Superhuman Strength: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's muscular density and strength have been extraordinarily enhanced and enable her to lift about 7 tons.

Superhuman Speed: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's capable of running and moving at speeds much greater than even the finest human athlete.

Superhuman Stamina: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's musculature generates less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. She can exert herself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to impair her.

Superhuman Durability: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's body is somewhat tougher and more resistant to injury than an ordinary human's, although she is far from invulnerable. She is capable of withstanding impact forces that would severely injure or kill an ordinary human with only mild to moderate discomfort.

Superhuman Flexibility: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's body is extraordinarily limber and her tendons and connective tissues are twice as flexible as the average human being's, despite the augmented musculature and its enhanced strength.

Superhuman Hearing: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's hearing is superhumanly acute and enables her to detect sound at virtually any frequency, and she's been known to detect, sort out, and correctly identify sounds through thick steel doors, and across considerable distances.

Immunity to Toxins, Poisons, Drugs, and Radiation: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's metabolism rapidly creates a powerful immunity to all forms of toxins, poisons and drugs, after an initial exposure that usually makes her dizzy. Her body is totally immune to radiation.

Wall-Crawling: Using Spider-Woman's DNA Veranke's limbs can adhere to surfaces via electrostatic attraction. Spider-Woman can hold and carry a considerable amount of extra weight while sticking to walls without falling off; it's safe to assume that the weight she can carry is dozens of times her own, and the limits of how long she can do this before fatigue sets in are still unknown.

Bioelectric Blasts: Her body possesses an inordinate amount of bio-electricity that she has learned to channel and discharge through her hands, in controlled bursts. These energy projections vary in power; they mostly affect the nervous system in humans. Veranke can regulate them from simply a stun to potent enough to kill an average-sized man in the same way that a lightning bolt could kill him.

Pheromone Secretion: Her metabolism generates certain types of pheromones that elicit attraction and/or repulsion on others, depending on unknown factors which might include gender and mood.

Self-Propelled Flight: It is unclear as to the range and extent of this power.

Energy Manipulation: Veranke is capable of manipulating certain energy forms. This was demonstrated when the Mighty Avengers were held captive by Doctor Doom and may have inadvertently blown her cover.

Abilities

She is capable of about everything the real Jessica Drew was excelling in armed and unarmed combat, espionage, and athletics.

Weaknesses

Skrull Shape-Shifting: Skrulls only take on the appearance of an object or person and none of that object or person’s characteristics. There is a limit to the size of the object or person a Skrull can imitate. The average Skrull cannot distend his or her mass any more than 1.5 times as large a volume as his or her original volume, nor can he or she contract his or her mass any more than 0.75 a volume as his or her original.

Earth Languages: Veranke cannot speak the foreign languages Jessica Drew could. In Japan she could not understand any of the Hand ninjas whenever they spoke.[17]